Dante Alighieri (1265–1321)
The Love of God
The love of God, unutterable and perfect,
flows into a pure soul the way that light
rushes into a transparent object.
The more love that it finds, the more it gives
itself; so that, as we grow clear and open,
the more complete the joy of heaven is.
And the more souls who resonate together,
the greater the intensity of their love,
and, mirror-like, each soul reflects the other.
Translated by Stephen Mitchell.
Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) was an Italian poet whose Divine Comedy is one of the most significant pieces of world literature. Even though much of his work commented on Italian and especially Florentine politics of his day, his poetry contains universal themes of the human condition. From Stephen Mitchell, The Enlightened Heart (Harper Collins, 2011), 68.
Selected by Amy Frykholm: amy@journeywithjesus.net
